JLM HID Kit Review

One of the most popular HID kits on Amazon is the JLM kit. This kit has mixed reviews, so we were anxious to get it installed and see how it matched up against other kits we’ve installed. When we opened the box, we were somewhat disappointed. We purchased the 8000k kit from Amazon.com.

The ballasts were of similar quality as other kits we’ve reviewed, such as the Kensun and VVME kits. The bulbs also appeared to be somewhat similar. The disappointment came when I looked at the actual plug that connects the HID kit to the wiring in the vehicle. Most HID kits come with a high-quality plug that can be connected to your vehicle’s stock wiring. This kit, however, only came with three prongs that had to be jury rigged in order to be connected to the vehicle:

Additional photos help to understand the overall build quality of the kit.

The ballast is very similar to those in other kits we’ve reviewed. It’s built with quality materials and has been built to last. Some other kits come with plastic ballasts that don’t seem to last very long. The JLM kit, however, comes with a nicer quality ballast. The image below shows the xentec ballast on the left and the JLM ballast on the right.

The bulb of the kit is a quality bulb. It’s construction is sturdy and the color is true. However, if you look closely, you’ll notice that the red o-ring that is supposed to allow for a tight fit into the headlight housing isn’t high-quality. In fact, several times during the installation process we had to reposition the O-ring back into its place on the bulb. We can see how, throughout time, water and debris would be able to leak through into the headlight housing, causing permanent damage to the housing and the HID kit.

Once installed, the 8,000k kit burned true to color, Iceberg Blue. It emitted a bright white/light blue color light that was very clean looking. The light was much brighter than standard halogens.

The image below shows the JLM 8000k kit on the right side with the stock halogen bulb on the left. You can see the color difference as well as the difference in brightness. Conveniently, our 2006 Toyota 4Runner has projector headlight housings, so the light is cut off sharply in a straight line at the top of the beam. This helps to keep the light out of the eyes of oncoming traffic.

Conclusion: The overall quality of light being emitted from the JLM kit was great. The color was exact and the brightness was on par with any other HID kit on the market. However, the overall build quality of the kit would discourage us from purchasing the kit in the future. It was difficult to lock the bulb in place in the headlight housing, as shown in the photo below, and the 3-prong plug that should be used to connect the kit to the stock wiring harness in your vehicle seemed to be incomplete. If you’re looking for a quality HID kit, we’d recommend going with a Kensun HID kit instead.

They’re a little more expensive, but will provide you with the same light quality while providing a far superior build quality.

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